Playing soldiers
by Hannatalia
Summary: Emil (Iceland) has a tough time trying to juggle his life, bullies, and coping without his brother, Lukas (Norway) who is a soldier, and could be killed at any moment, and he wouldn't know for a long time...
1. Chapter 1

It was so quiet. It was always quiet. There were so many noises that left with him when he left. Emil sighed and put his empty cup of tea down. How long had it been? Almost 8 months... It felt like years. He didn't know how much longer he could take. He needed him back, now.

Emil's brother, Lukas, was in the army. They only had each other and in the poor economic conditions at the time, the only job that Lukas could find was being a soldier. Lukas had to get money for his brother, so he could live, even if it meant he died for it. Times were hard, and this was the best job he could get. Emil hated it. When Lukas had told him that he was going to join the army, he sobbed and cried and begged Lukas not to, but Lukas knew what was best for Emil, and this was it. Lukas went through tough training, and when he came home every now and again, he would be so exhausted that he'd literally pass out on his bed. Emil knew that Lukas was trying hard, but he still hated the fact that he had to do it.

Then the worst part came. After all the training was complete, Lukas was told that he would be sent off to fight. The day that he left to go was awful. Emil remembered it perfectly. Lukas had stayed the night at their house, and he was again exhausted. Emil wanted to stay up and talk to him and play with him, but Lukas needed to sleep. The next morning, Lukas and Emil got up early, and Lukas was wearing his blue military outfit which looked much like a sailor suit. They then got the taxi to the airport, both of them in complete silence on the way there. There wasn't much to say at the time; it was too painful for both of them, since they were so close to each other. Once they arrived at the army airport, the two of them parted just as Lukas was about to board the helicopter. Emil grabbed Lukas' arm and begged him not to go, but Lukas of course had to. Emil was sobbing and pleading Lukas to come home in one piece. Lukas didn't even know how long he would be gone for, and he could only pray that he actually did return. Even though Lukas' expression usually stayed stoic, that was not the case this time. Tears filled his eyes and he bit his lip in sadness. He didn't say anything, and he just saluted his brother. Emil saluted back, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Lukas then quickly kissed Emil's cheek, whispering 'I love you' in his ear, and finally he boarded the helicopter. Emil watched the helicopter fly off, and he went home on his own, crying in the taxi.

8 months had gone so slowly. And Emil had no idea what Lukas was doing right now. He didn't even know if he was alive. He just hoped and prayed that he was safe. Knowing that your own brother may be laying in a hospital bed in a M*A*S*H unit right now with a sheet over his head, not breathing, was the most terrifying part of the whole experience for Emil.

The brothers didn't have parents; they had been orphans for as long as Emil could remember. They had lived in a care home ran by a couple who were nice enough, but they never really fitted in with the other kids there, and sometimes they just felt that they were invisible. The other kids were very troublesome and the couple who had run the place mainly focused on them; Lukas and Emil barely got any attention. They didn't want attention because they only really cared about each other; Lukas looked after Emil and Emil enjoyed having Lukas look after him. This lack of attention was a huge advantage to the brothers when Lukas was 15 and Emil was 12, and they decided to leave. Emil could still remember Lukas waking him up in the night, telling him that they were going somewhere. Emil was too tired to really focus on what was going on, but he did exactly what Lukas told him to; which was mainly just to go to the bathroom and put on his coat, meanwhile Lukas packed Emil's bag for him. After that, they ran. Emil didn't know where, but Lukas seemed to know what they were doing.

After two hours of walking, Emil was awake but moaning at his brother, who wouldn't tell him anything at all. However, they then reached a road with some pretty looking houses along it with a cobbled pavement. Some of the houses had wisteria on them, and all was quiet on this street. Emil stopped moaning and looked around. There was so much peace on his road. Even though it was a cold night, the younger boy felt warm inside. Lukas then stopped outside a house similar to the others. It too had wisteria on the front, and it looked homely and welcoming. Emil had an idea as to why they were there and he took a deep breath, before taking Lukas' hand and squeezing it, Lukas smiled at his brother, before taking out a key and opening the door to this house.

"Home sweet home..." Lukas had said to him, as they walked in. From that day on, they had been on their own, save for one guy, a friend who Lukas had made at school who was in his year, and he often came round to talk and be with the two brothers, since he was equally friendly with Emil as he was with Lukas. But other than that, they did everything by themselves. Lukas explained to Emil that their parents had left their money to them, and there was a pretty good amount. This meant Lukas was able to buy the house and also pay the bills. Emil had always admired his brother's intelligence.

And now, he missed it. The army needed someone as amazing and smart as Lukas, but... Emil needed him more. He couldn't express in words how much he wanted Lukas to return, safe and sound.


	2. Chapter 2

"Another late homework, Emil..." Mr Taylor sighed, staring down at the shy, ash blonde boy. The whole class was staring with said teacher, some of them sniggering and rolling their eyes. Emil was staring at his desk, hiding his teary eyes with his fringe. He didn't know what to say; this was something that had been common for him since Lukas left. "What's your excuse this time?"

'I didn't want to bring in my homework because it's stained with my tears, just like many of my other late homework's' Emil thought. Though he wouldn't dare say that to anyone. But it was true; it was almost routine for Emil to go home and cry in fear. He just did it when he entered his house, and he would do everything whilst tears spilled out of his eyes, therefore soaking his homework. Or sometimes he just couldn't do it because he was so sick with worry that he'd throw up and pass out. This then resulted in frequent detentions and letters sent home. But what was the point of letters being sent home if no one was there to read them? Emil's school didn't know that Lukas had been sent off, and Emil didn't even know if the school knew that they had no parents. And Emil didn't feel like telling them.

"Um... I... I was busy..." Emil sighed, still not making eye contact with Mr Taylor. He tried his hardest to sound like he wasn't going to cry, but he didn't know if it had worked.

"Busy? What could be so important, Emil, that you can't even get your homework done?!" Mr Taylor growled loudly, beginning to yell at the shivering boy. Iceland was stuck. Again. He couldn't tell them the truth...

"Working. My job got more chaotic and I was needed overtime. I didn't get it done because of that. I'm sorry, sir" Emil lied, still making no eye contact.

"That's not good enough, Emil! You yet again have a detention with me after school today. You have got to learn to do things when you are told to!" Mr Taylor yelled, making the young boy flinch, and a tear roll out of his eye. "Oh, don't you DARE start crying, Emil!" Mr Taylor added, making the class roar in laughter. Emil slumped over on his desk, unable to hold back tears. He cried silently into his folded arms which were resting on the table, wishing that he could just be with his brother right now. The thought of Lukas made him cry harder, though he didn't make a sound. His class laughed and called him awful names, but he didn't care about them. They could all drop dead and he wouldn't bat an eyelid. All he wanted was Lukas.

"I'll be expecting to see you straight after school. Don't bring your pathetic tears with you. Class dismissed" Mr Taylor growled as the bell rang. The class packed up their things to go to lunch, whilst Emil didn't move. He heard Mr Taylor walk off, and after a few annoying boys stopped teasing Emil; he was left alone in peace in the classroom. He sat up straight, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. His book was now tearstained like all the homework he had failed to give in, and he hated himself for it. The writing was smudged and the pages were sticking together.

"Smooth, Emil. Real smooth" he sobbed angrily, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. He couldn't stop crying, though he felt so angry. "Lukas... If you were here now..." He cried. That was something else he had started doing. Talking to his brother as if he were there. It was crazy, but he couldn't help doing it. "I know, I have to be strong... I have to stop crying and be strong..." he cried more. "... What's the point? What if you're dead right now? I wouldn't know... I could be all alone and I wouldn't know until I was told... Which could be whenever..." he bawled, hating the idea of his brother dying.

"Emil? You have to leave..." A girl said, walking in the room. She was just a sixth-former, obviously here to run a club for the year 7s. He didn't know her name, but of course she knew his. Everyone knew his. He was that pathetic emo kid who cried all the time. Everyone knew him, and everyone seemed to hate him. He blushed as he looked at the girl, and he wiped his eyes, though she already knew he was crying. He began packing his stuff up in silence, quickly, so he could find a place to be alone again. He scuttled off, leaving the girl to set up.

Lunch time was his favourite time of the school day. It meant he could be alone and away from the bullies, but he wasn't at home, where he missed Lukas the most. He walked down the corridor, trying to hide the fact that he was crying, but he knew his eyes were red and puffy. He found the music room he stayed in for lunch times, and he walked in, locking the door behind him. Luckily, no one ever came into that room apart from music teachers, but that was during lesson times. He was finally alone, and he would stay alone until lunch was over. But at least the next lesson was literature; one of his favourites. Especially since they were doing poetry at the time.

Emil sat down on the piano stool, sighing. He was lucky to get to the music room without being bothered. Usually, there would be some gang waiting for him, just to pick a fight. The amount of times that he went home with a black eye or a broken nose or something equally as irritating was unreal. He didn't have any friends at school; everyone hated him. And he hated them back. He didn't want to be any of their friends anyway. His only friend other than his brother was Tino; the Finnish kid who Lukas had made friends with in school, and was also close with Emil. He regularly visited him and Emil was grateful to Tino; he was sure that he wouldn't have made it this far in life without his support. Emil enjoyed the smiley nature of him and he took comfort in it, but recently, Tino had been seeing Emil less and less due to Tino being caught up at University. Emil understood; sometimes life just got in the way, but sometimes he just wanted to see his bright smile and hear his reassuring words. It meant a lot to him when he came round.

Emil took out some manuscript paper which had a complex looking piano tune on them. It was a song that he had been writing for a while, and he was meaning to finish it soon. Playing the piano took his mind off life for a while, and he enjoyed doing it, so every lunch time, after he was usually beaten up or teased by bullies, he would come here and write music. He started gently playing through what he ready had, smiling to himself at the soft, comforting tune. He could almost see the notes dancing off the page and flying around the room in a graceful manner; a comforting idea to the ash-blonde haired boy. The song was called 'fairy ring' and Emil had written it based off a childhood memory. When he and his brother was younger; Emil being about 5 and Lukas being 8, Lukas used to tell Emil little fairy stories to send him to sleep when it was bedtime. His favourite one was about a brother and a sister who walked into a forest, and the girl steps in a ring of pebbles, laid out by a witch. The girl is turned into stone, so her older brother goes looking for a cure, and he asks a fairy for help, and she joins him. The fairy tells him that he must have at least 10 fairies to make a circle around the girl and then the spell will be broken. He then sets out on a quest to free his sister.

This story was always Emil's favourite. Lukas was good at remembering and telling stories, and bedtime was always an enjoyable moment for the two of them. Emil had remembered these warm moments not too long ago, and he decided to write a song about them. The song was focused on when the fairies formed the ring around the girl; Iceland imagined it to be peaceful and calm as they did it, so the song matched. He thought it worked well, and he was pleased with his work.


	3. Chapter 3

Emil stayed in the music room for the whole lunch hour, until it was time for Emil to go to literature class. He always left to go before the bell; it was so he could get in the classroom first and be alone again for a while. So he left, and that's when he encountered a small bit of trouble.

"Oi fag!" a voice called, followed by the footsteps of several people running after Emil. Emil knew who it was, and he started walking faster, fear and anger building up in his veins. He didn't want to do this today; he didn't want to do it any day! "Don't ignore me!" the voice said, before Emil was roughly punched in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. He hissed in pain, trying to pick himself back up, but a foot was shoved on his back and he was forced down again. He knew he wasn't strong enough to fight back, so he just lay there, forcing his eyes not to water. One of the boys walked around to face Emil and he crouched down. He put two fingers under his chin and lifted Emil's head to look at him. Emil stared at him angrily, as if he was trying to make him burst into flames with his glare. The boy just laughed at him, and then proceeded to hold Emil's head tightly with his hair. The pain was horrible, but not unfamiliar.

"I expect you to pay attention to me when I talk to you! Understood?" The boy demanded, clutching Emil's hair tighter. Emil growled.

"No!" he hissed, angrily. The boy smirked and nodded at one of his accomplices. Emil was turned over onto his front, and then pinned down with one boy holding his hands down and another boy holding his feet down, and the main bully towering over him. Emil's shirt was then unbuttoned and then pushed back, and he blushed a deep red colour. He knew there were people standing around and watching him, laughing. He didn't know how many, he didn't want to look. The main bully took out a blade from a pencil sharpener and held it up.

"I'm giving you one last chance. When I talk to you, you'll pay attention, yes?" The bully said. Emil panicked and stared at the blade. He was too scared to say anything, and the Bully just took it as him refusing. He shrugged and then slashed the blade down on Emil's chest, making a long, large, deep cut. He smiled, evilly, as the blood poured out of it, and Emil cried out in pain. Emil squirmed and tried to get out of the grip of the three boys. The crowed around them cheered, clapping at the boys. The lead bully then cut down Emil's chest the other way, making an X on his chest. Emil cried more, feeling the blood pour out of his chest. He didn't want any more.

"O-Okay... I'm sorry... I'll p-pay attention..." he sobbed "P-please stop!" he begged, unable to take any more. The bully smirked.

"Aw, and it was just beginning to get fun!" he laughed, before the bell went and it was time for lessons. "Well, see you later, ya little bitch" he said, before standing up and walking off with his friends, leaving Emil crying on the ground. He sat up, scared by all the blood that was leaking from the wounds. He stood up and ran to the toilets, since he knew that Matron hated him just as much as everyone else in this hell of a school. He ran into a cubicle, before taking a first aid kit out of his bag. It had gotten to the point where it was necessary for him to take one to school with him, so he could bandage himself up. He didn't know if he had enough wipes to get the blood away, so he just used tissues to start with. The cuts were kind of deep...

Once cleaning and bandaging the wounds, he did his shirt back up and headed for class. The second bell had already gone and he was late for literature. He ran all the way to his classroom, opening the door shyly, where he was greeted by another disappointed teacher.

"You know, Emil, I don't know what it is you're aiming for, but sometimes it seems that you LIKE getting detentions" Mrs Graham tutted. Emil didn't like the teacher, just the lesson. His class were sniggering at him, like usual.

"I'm sorry, Mrs..." he sighed; really not sure he could say anything else. He sat down, feeling the glare of everyone on him.

"Right then. We were just doing poetry..." Mrs Graham explained. Iceland sat in the corner, looking out of the window. He smiled a small smile when Mrs Graham said that they were going to write some poems, and he took out his book and his favourite pen. He eagerly began writing, knowing exactly what to write about.

'I miss you'

He wrote at the top, before thinking about how to start this poem. He looked out of the window and thought for a moment, thinking about all the things he could write.

'If I could have a single wish  
It won't be for my own  
I would not wish for wealth or fame  
I want you to come home'

Was that too cheesy? Nah... Iceland continued.

'amongst the bullets and the bombs  
And danger all around  
I'm counting on your close return  
So come home, safe and sound'

Well, it was a promise that Lukas was supposed to make, though he didn't actually make it. Of course he couldn't make it; who knows what was going to happen on the battlefield?

'And if your life should end today,  
your soul to leave this land  
then I will soon see you again  
and we'll walk hand in hand'

Well that's depressing, but Iceland meant it.

'I couldn't stand to hold your corpse  
Or watch your lifeless eyes  
I'd cry to see your blood be spilt  
as you said your goodbyes'

Oh dear... Emil had better conclude it before he burst into tears.

'So just grant me one lonely wish  
so I won't be so blue  
Please, come home, or I'll give up!  
'Cos Lukas, I miss you!'

A tear splashed onto the black ink that Emil used to write. He forced his eyes to stop before he caused a scene, and that was the last thing he wanted. He read through his poem, sighing as he got to the end. He secretly looked over at the poem of the girl sitting next to him, and he saw it was about butterflies. He bit his lip, realising that a school task probably wasn't the best place to write such a deep poem. He turned the page in his exercise book and began thinking of something else to write.

'Memories'

Yeah, that should do it. Of course Emil wasn't going to write something as shallow as butterflies, but at least this one shouldn't bring him to tears when he read it. He began thinking about all the activities that he and his brother used to do together, and how he could put them into this poem.

'When I was just a little kid  
And still sucking my thumb  
You took my hand out of my mouth  
And said that I was dumb'

Emil giggled slightly, remembering all the times that Lukas told him not to suck his thumb when he was a toddler. Emil sometimes just did it to annoy Lukas; he found it funny. There were a lot of things that Emil did just to annoy Lukas, though of course, that was when he was practically a baby.

'I threw my toys and screamed and cried  
whenever I would weep, but  
you'd always come and pick me up  
and sing me off to sleep'

Lukas couldn't sing and it was hilarious. Though when Emil was a small child, and Lukas was a slightly older child, that didn't matter, and he would sing softly and sweetly to Emil and he would actually fall asleep because of it. Especially as they didn't have any parents and Lukas used to take Emil out to the park sometimes, so Emil would see many of the children walking hand in hand with their parents and it used to make him sad. Thinking back, that must have made Lukas sad too... Maybe it made him feel like he wasn't enough for Emil. Of course that wasn't true. Emil didn't need parents, all he needed was Lukas. He didn't even want parents anymore.

'And though we both were all alone  
Together, just us two  
Looking back I can see now  
I only needed you

You were the one who made me laugh  
With you, I always smiled  
You taught me things I won't forget,  
Yet always stayed so mild'

To be honest, Lukas had taught Emil everything. The basic stuff, like walking, eating, using the toilet, talking and suchlike, but also other skills, like playing the piano and cooking. Lukas had always taken care of Emil so well, and it had gotten to the point where he was willing to risk his life, just so Emil could survive. However, even though Emil was overly grateful to his brother, what he really wanted was for Lukas to be home... Even if they ran out of money and had to live on the streets, they would still have each other, and that's all Emil ever wanted.

'You never stopped caring for me  
Though now we are apart  
Because when you were sent away  
I felt our broken hearts'

... That didn't sound incestuous, did it? Hopefully not... He didn't mean it like that... But the day the Lukas left, the look on his face was one he had never seen before. Lukas had never looked so sad and deflated; it was as if he had lost a war already. Emil was crying as he left, but that wasn't uncommon for him.

'So now I sit alone once more  
whilst I, my tears, retain  
Reminded of they days we shared,  
praying for those again'

Emil put his pen down and looked out of the window. He was finished, finally, and his eyes were slightly watery, but he didn't cry. Outside, he saw birds gracefully flapping their wings, seemingly careless as they did so. He wished he had wings. He could fly to Lukas, sweep him off his feet, out of danger and harm, and take him back home forever. If only he could fly...

"Emil? What are you doing? Do you really not even have the courtesy to simply look like you're interested, even after coming into the class room 15 minutes late?" Mrs Graham said. The whole class' eyes snapped to Emil and he blushed a bit.

"N-no I... I finished..." he whispered, shyly, looking at the table.

"Oh have you? Well how about you read this apparently finished poem to the class?" Mrs Graham demanded. Emil froze, fear taking over his body.

"I-I'd rather not, Mrs..." he stuttered, clutching his two poems protectively. The last thing he wanted was to read them out to the class and then start crying in front of everyone. He looked pleadingly at the cold, harsh teacher, yet she didn't soften up.

"Don't talk back to me, boy! You shall do as I say when I say it! Is that clear?" She said, raising her voice. Well that was a familiar sentence, but at least Mrs Graham wouldn't cut Emil's chest with a sharpener. Emil was stressing out. Everyone was staring at him, and he so desperately did not want to read either of the poems out. He bit his lip to stop tears from flowing, as he thought about what to do.

"C-can't I just hand them in to you instead of read them out?" he begged, still pleading with his eyes also.

"Oh, so there's more than one of them? Well why don't you read them both out? In such a short space of time, I'm sure that they are both masterpieces!" Mrs Graham said sarcastically, making the class laugh. Emil looked down at the poems, biting his lip harder. There was so much in those poems that he wanted to hide.

"Please... Mrs... I really can't!" Emil said, on the brink of tears. Mrs Graham went red in the face.

"Emil... When I tell you to read out your poem, you READ OUT YOUR POEM!" Mrs Graham shouted, scaring the ash-blonde haired boy. Emil almost burst into tears then and there. "Come and stand up here and read them out!" she continued less loudly. Emil was just about to refuse again, but he was stopped. "And if you don't, I shall see to it that you have a Saturday detention every weekend for the next 6 weeks!" Emil stood up, tears brimming in his eyes.

"I'm only reading one..." he said quietly. He could see the rest of the class sniggering at him, taunting him as they always did. He slowly walked to the front of the class, clutching the papers nervously. Once he got to the front, he looked at everyone staring at him, some smirking, some whispering and giggling. He felt like he was going to throw up. He was always bad with stage fright, and it was even worse now that he was reading a poem about something so personal to him.

"Well, Emil? Hurry up, we haven't got all day!" Mrs Graham demanded, slapping her hand down on the table. Emil flinched, backing away slightly, as if she was going to hit him. She glared at him, furiously. "If we were still allowed to cane children, I would give you 50 lashes right now!" she yelled. Emil whimpered in terror, scared that she actually would hit him. He nodded at her, and then turned to face the class. All eyes were on him. Judging his every move. He felt his stomach churn and his breath hitched, feeling more and more sick. He took a deep breath and began reading.

"W-when I was just a little kid and still sucking my thumb..." Emil began, constantly stuttering a muttering. He didn't want anyone to hear him, so he continued to say words quietly.

"Speak UP!" Mrs Graham yelled, making Emil back away even more. He felt a tear threaten to escape but he blinked it away. He continued to read, slightly louder, but still quietly, however it was loud enough for the class to hear. They all began laughing, loudly at the shy boy. They repeated his words in a childish voice and mocked him. Emil's cheeks turned a deep red colour and he looked at the floor. He put his arm over his eyes as he began crying, again. He hated himself for it; he felt like such a baby. His class roared with laughter, yelling names at him, teasing him, doing stupid impressions of him, and many other things that made Emil sob harder. They didn't know. They didn't understand the pain he was going through. They had no idea that he was an orphan who had a brother in the army who could be getting shot at right now. They didn't know...

"Seriously? Are you honestly crying because you can't take a bit of joking?" Mrs Graham scolded, looking angrily at the sobbing boy. Emil didn't respond, he didn't even look up. He took his arm away from his teary eyes and stared at the poem he had been so proud of. He then tore the page out of his exercise book, and tore the poem into tiny pieces. He did so angrily, as tears of fury poured down his red cheeks. He didn't know who he was angrier at; his class, or himself. He dumped the paper shreds into the bin, before the bell went for end of lessons. Emil rushed to his seat and packed his stuff away, whilst others in his class continued to mock and laugh at him. Some prodded him with sharpened pencils, making him wince a bit in pain, but he didn't give anyone eye contact. He ran out of the classroom, clutching his bag and running full speed to registration.


	4. Chapter 4

Emil opened the door of his home, after suffering the most annoying detention ever. Mr Taylor had made him write out the line 'I will actually make an effort in my academic education and try to succeed in life from now on' 1000 times. 1000. Emil's hand hurt, and he wanted nothing more than to just be at home, and sleep the rest of this awful day away.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, before a smell entered his nose. It smelt like... Cookies? Freshly baked cookies! How on earth is that possible?

"Emil? You're finally home!" A familiar voice came. Emil smiled a bit, knowing who it was instantly.

"Hey, Tino..." he said as the blonde boy emerged, wearing an apron and a large smile. Tino had a key to Emil's home; it was just useful like that. The older boy took off his apron and dropped it on the coffee table next to him as he approached Emil. However, his smile faded when he saw Emil's puffy red eyes and deflated expression. Tino reached his arms out and pulled Emil in for a hug, holding him close. Emil eagerly hugged him back, like a lost child finding their mother again. It felt so good to just hug someone again; to be hugged back as well; to feel loved. Emil began crying again, silently, but this time, he wasn't ashamed. He knew he could trust Tino, and so something like crying didn't bother him when it came to his friend. It was just such a good stress relief action to do; to hug him. Emil didn't want to move from that spot.

"Hey... It's okay..." Tino whispered, gently stroking the younger boy's back. Emil kept crying, silently, whilst Tino comforted him. "Here, let's go and sit down, I'll get you some tea and cookies, and we can talk, okay?" Tino suggested. Emil nodded, pulling away from the hug, though he instantly grabbed Tino's hand. The Finnish boy smiled and led Emil to the lounge, before sitting him down and letting go of his hand. He then ran to the kitchen and swiftly made a pot of tea, and put some of the cookies he had made onto a plate.

"Here, I just made these so they're warm..." Tino said, handing Emil a cookie. Emil eagerly took it, biting into it instantly. It tasted so good, but Tino was always good at baking sweat treats, so it wasn't a surprise. Tino sat down next to Emil, smiling at the reaction of his cookies.

"Th-thank you, Tino..." Emil sighed, sipping his tea. There was a moment of silence between the two boys before Tino finally spoke.

"So, tell me what's wrong..." He asked, gently putting his arm around the younger boy. "Or are you simply having a bad day of anxiety for Lukas?" Iceland hesitated, feeling ashamed of what happened, even if it was only Tino who was going to talk to him.

"Well... Y-you know how I keep not bringing in homework because I spoil the ink with tears?" Emil said, quietly. Tino nodded, trying to picture where this was going. "I missed another one today... I got a detention for it, which is why I was so late home, but then... When I was being told off in front of everyone, and they were all sniggering, I started crying and it was so humiliating because they all laughed more!" Emil sighed, feeling like an utter baby. "And then, at lunch, I... I was pushed to the ground by that group of boys, and I got these..." Emil sighed, unbuttoning his top. Tino was slightly confused at this, since he had no idea what to expect, but when he saw the blood-stained bandages, he knew immediately. Tino's heart sank and he stopped Emil from undoing the bandages and he took over unravelling them himself. Tino had a lot of medical and first aid experience, so Emil knew that it would be best if Tino did it anyway. Once the bandages were off, Tino gasped at the disgusting looking cuts. Emil blushed, looking away from his friend. The older boy gently traced his hand over one of the gashes, his finger collecting blood and making Emil wince. Tino sighed, gently pulling Emil into a hug. Emil again accepted, trying to cuddle the pain away.

"Okay, I'll deal with those... They look serious! They'll need stitches..." Tino informed the younger boy. Emil sighed, happy that Tino knew what he was doing. "What else happened?" Tino asked, sensing that there was something more.

"Um... Well I had Literature and I was writing a poem about Lukas... I actually wrote two, but I finished them quickly, and my teacher asked me to read them out in front of everyone... I begged her to reconsider and not force me to, but she threatened me and said that if she could still cane me, then she would... I had to read it out and... Everyone laughed at me and mocked me!" Emil sobbed into Tino's top. It felt so good to get all this off his back. Tino just sat there, stroking his back and listening to him. He felt awful about the whole ordeal that Emil was going through, and he wanted to help him as much as he could. As if it wasn't bad enough having his own brother sent off to fight, now he had to deal with bullying!

"Emil... Maybe you should take a few days off school? You've been working yourself to the bone with school work and home work and trying to balance that with bullying and your brother being away is really difficult... I think you need a break" Tino suggested. Emil sighed and sniffed, still clutching his friend.

"I can't... I need good qualifications so I can get a good job so Lukas doesn't have to fight! I'd rather work myself to death if it just meant that Lukas could come home safe..." Emil cried. Tino sighed, knowing that the ash-blonde boy would show great loyalty to his brother.

"Emil... Just because you miss a few days of school doesn't mean you'll fail in life..." Tino said, as he felt Emil nuzzle him a bit.

"I don't want to risk it..." Emil said, quietly. Tino exhaled, deciding that he'll leave that topic for now. He gently let go of Emil, though Emil clung onto him a little bit. Once they had separated, Tino went in search of the medical equipment Emil had in order for him to do his stitches.

"I'm not going to lie; this will hurt..." Tino warned his friend, as he sat down with the needles and other materials. Emil nodded, accepting the coming pain. Tino gently began piercing his skin, whilst Emil bit his lip to stop himself from whining. It did hurt, but it was bearable.

"Have you tried talking to your head teacher about these bullies?" Tino asked, though he still concentrated on the stitches.

"No, of course not! He won't know I exist, nor will he care about my problems! No one cares... Except for you..." Emil sighed, wincing as Tino continued the stitching. "Besides, if I managed to actually get close to him, tell him about my problems, and then he actually did something about it... I would look like more of a pathetic baby than I already do!"

"You're not a pathetic baby, Emil... You're incredibly brave; most people would have no idea how to cope with what you're going through. The people at school are just stupid kids who are bored and feel so insecure about themselves that they have to make others feel worse so they can feel better. They're all cruel and stupid and judgemental, and you need to ignore them as much as possible" Tino instructed his friend. Emil bit his lip again, not in pain, but because he was thoughtful about it for a moment.

"Tino... W-would you mind doing me a favour?" Emil shyly asked, blushing and looking away.

"Hm? Sure, of course! What do you want me to do?" Tino said happily, smiling at his shy friend. Emil blushed even more, twiddling his thumbs a bit.

"W-would you mind... Staying with me? For a while? I mean... You can sleep in Lukas' room... Just for a while? Please?" Emil asked the darker blonde boy, who was just finishing up on the stitches. Tino smiled and looked up at the lighter blonde boy, having finished the stitches.

"I would love to, Emil! But... Are you sure? I have a feeling that I'll just get in the way of everything..." Tino smiled, blushing slightly.

"Of course you won't! You'll be a great help to me... Please?" Emil begged, biting his lip as he did so. Tino smiled more and nodded.

"Well if you're sure, then of course I'll stay with you! I'd love to!" Tino announced. Emil suddenly beamed at him, happiness engulfing his expressions. The once sad vibe had vanished, and for a while, all was happy! Tino and Emil laughed and chatted over the warm and delicious cookies that the older boy had made, before they were both tired. However, Emil insisted that he was not the least bit sleepy, and so they began watching a film.

During which, half way through, Emil fell asleep on Tino's lap. Tino smiled at him, stroking his hair. He took hold of the TV remote control and he turned off the flashing screen, yawning himself as he did so. He gently picked up his friend, feeling how light he was. He made a mental note to try and get him to eat more; in his condition, it wouldn't be unheard of to lose appetite, but it was clear that Emil was eating minimal amounts. Perhaps Tino should stay with him for longer... The awake boy walked Emil to his bedroom, before gently removing his jacket, boots and belt, and then slipping him under the covers in his bed. Emil sighed as he slept, a faint blush covering his cheeks. Tino smiled at him more, admiring how adorable he was, before he left Emil's room and made his way towards Lukas' room. He sat down, got undressed, and lay in bed, yawning all the more. Within seconds, the Finnish boy was fast asleep, just like his friend.


	5. Chapter 5

A week went by fast. Every day, Tino would have a full cooked breakfast waiting for the younger boy to have before he went to school, and also some lunch as well. Emil insisted that Tino was babying him, but Tino didn't care, and Emil secretly enjoyed the attention. After school, when Emil came home, there was always tea and cakes or cookies or something sweet for a snack. Emil would come home and smile, even on the days that were awful for the poor bullied boy. Tino just brightened up his day, every time.

A week passed, a week and a half had actually passed, and Tino remained by Emil's side. Tino had never really realised how much that Emil needed; he was just a kid after all. Tino didn't really want to leave him alone like that ever again, but he knew that his holiday off Uni wouldn't last forever. But for all the time that he did have off work, he wanted to just spend with his friend. Emil had no complaints, and he wanted Tino to stay as long as possible, so he did.

It was a Wednesday, and Emil shakily got out of bed as the annoying and familiar sound of his alarm screeched at him. He promptly turned it off before he sighed and rolled over in bed. Wednesdays were always the worst for him. He had the worse teachers and the worst lessons and it was the longest day of the week. He reluctantly sat up in bed, yawning as he did so. He really didn't want to go to school that day, but he knew he had to; studying hard meant qualifications which meant getting a job, which meant Lukas could come home. Emil used that as his motivation every time, and it seemed to work. He was soon out of bed and dressed, packing his school bag before he headed to the kitchen. He could smell the food that Tino had made the moment he opened the door, and he smiled, grateful to Tino that he had done this again for him.

"Good morning, Emil!" Tino said softly, smiling at the tired boy. Emil smiled back.

"Hey, Tino... Thanks for doing this, again..." Emil yawned, looking at the plate of bacon and sausages and eggs and suchlike.

"It's no problem, I enjoy doing this, you know I do!" Tino said, bringing Emil a cup of tea. Emil smiled more and quickly went to the front door, picking up the post that had fallen through the hatch. He then returned to his seat, sitting down and sorting through the post, whilst sipping his tea. He soon found a specific envelope, and he froze in his place. He recognised that stamp. It was from the armed forces; the army. And it was addressed to him. He didn't know what to do; it could be good news, like Lukas could be coming home! Or it could be bad news, like... Lukas wasn't coming home. He hesitantly started undoing the envelope, gently tearing it open, before he took out the paper enclosed within. Tino watched him as he did so, a curious look on his face as to why there was dread written on Emil's.

The younger boy hesitantly read through the letter, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, word by word. Until he came across three, dreadful words.

"Missing, believed dead"

Emil froze, completely still. A statue had more life in it than he did at that moment. Tino watched as his face went pale and his eyes welled up.

"Emil...?" Tino asked, quietly. "What's...? What's wrong?" Emil didn't move, he just stared at the paper as a tear trickled out of his eye and onto the table. Tino walked to where Emil was sitting and he stood behind him, reading the letter. Tino also froze when he read the three dreaded words.

A silence passed between them, no sound at all breaking it, until Tino finally spoke.

"I think... You should stay off school today" he whispered, his own eyes welling up. Emil bared his teeth, and turned to look at Tino, angrily.

"You just don't stop, do you?! How many time do I have to tell you that I WON'T STAY OFF SCHOOL?!" Emil yelled, scaring Tino a bit. "Or are you just too dumb to realise what I'm saying?!" Tino looked at him in shock, unsure of how to reply.

"N-no, it's just, this is a hard thing for you to t-take in, and it w-would be b-better if you stayed at ho-"

"You have NO IDEA what is better for me! You have no idea at all! You're useless! Just get the fuck off my back! I hate you!" Emil shouted, before he grabbed his school bag, shoving the letter in it and running off, crying his eyes out. As he got outside, it was raining, and he had forgotten his umbrella, but he didn't care. He just began running, all the way to school, the three dreadful words lingering in his head as he sobbed. All hope that he had to see his brother again was lost, and now, he didn't know what to do. He just kept running.

***

"Emil, explain to me why it is that all your work is soaking!" Mr Schmitz groaned, picking up one of Emil's work books. It was wet from the rain, since he had nothing to cover it with, and his bag certainly wasn't waterproof. Great, first lesson of the day, first 15 minutes of it and he was already getting told off for stuff. Emil didn't say anything. He hadn't said anything since he had left his home, but he knew it was going to be hard to just not talk all day without getting punished for it.

"Well? Aren't you going to answer me?" Mr Schmitz growled, folding his arms. Emil sighed, quietly, before he looked up at his teacher.

"I dropped my bag in a puddle" he whispered quietly. It was a lie, but it really didn't matter to him. "I'm sorry." Mr Schmitz sighed, irritated.

"Just as clumsy as always, Emil. Why can't you even TRY to act like you have a brain?" Mr Schmitz ranted, angered by the boy. Emil was not in the mood for this. He knew that one more fragile poke and he would be a complete mess. He just hoped Mr Schmitz would leave him alone. "I'm disappointed, Emil, but that's nothing new, is it?" He said, finally, before walking off. The blonde boy forced himself not to burst into tears as the lesson continued. He didn't care what his teacher was teaching; all he cared about was the letter he had received. He still didn't quite know how to react to it. He couldn't believe it. All of his hopes and future dreams had been shattered in just three words, and he didn't know what to do. And just to make matters worse, his best friend now probably hated him because of what he said before he left for school. He didn't mean it; he didn't mean any of it. He hated himself for saying such things; Tino was the reason that he was bearing through this, at least up until now. And then he had to go and ruin things. He'd be lucky to ever see his friend again.

The bell went after a long lesson, and Emil spent break time in the music room, just staring at the letter. He didn't cry, he just stared at it, as if there was something he had missed when previously reading it. For the full 15 minutes, he did not even move. He still didn't react. He just sat there, trying not to cry. That was the only reaction he could think of.

The next lesson was hell, because it was chemistry and that meant that they would have to be pared up to do a practical session. Emil hoped that he could just work on his own but that rarely happened, and he was never able to find someone to work with, so he was put in a three. Every single time. He was put with two girls this time, and they ignored him the whole time. He tried telling them that they hadn't added the right chemicals together and that they shouldn't put it over the flame yet because the ingredients were not right, but they took no notice. Unfortunately, the chemicals  
Inside bubbled hard and overflowed, slightly burning the hand of the girl who was holding it. She screamed, even though it was a tiny burn, and then turned to Emil.

"This is YOUR fault!" she yelled, before throwing the burning chemicals onto his arm. His sleeves were rolled up, so his arms were bare, and it hurt immensely. He hissed in pain as he felt the chemicals scold him, but as if that wasn't enough pain, the other girl he was working with slapped him.

"You're USELESS!" she shouted, pushing him away. The rest of the class were watching them, all assuming that it was in fact Emil's fault, even though it wasn't. Dr Sykes, the chemistry teacher, was staring at Emil, who was cradling his burning arm and trying to get to a tap so he could wash the chemicals off, but he was surrounded by other class mates who wouldn't let him get near the taps.

"P-please move... Please..." the boy begged, wanting to just stop the pain. The people in front of him just smirked and pushed him to the ground. The girls were yelling at him and the boys were threatening him, and his arm was burning. He simply curled up into a ball, resting his forehead on his knees as he started silently crying. He just wanted to be at home with Tino and Lukas. Forget that, he just wanted Lukas!

"Alright, students, that's enough..." Dr Sykes announced, walking over to where everyone was crowded. "Return to your places and continue with the experiment." The class of hysterical school kids all returned to their places, still mocking the crying boy as they went. Emil stayed curled up, not wanting to move at all or see any one of those kids in his class. "Emil, stand up, please" Dr Sykes instructed. Emil lifted his head and wiped the tears away before he stood up, sighing. Dr Sykes sighed and looked at the burn on the boy's arm. Emil winced a little bit as he touched it, but it was bearable.

"He mixed the wrong chemicals together, sir, and then he burned me too!" One of the girls complained. Dr Sykes sighed, not up to punishing anyone today.

"I see. Emil, go to the medical room and get that sorted out. Take your things with you in case you don't come back" Dr Sykes said, before simply walking off. Emil sighed and packed his things up, meanwhile the girls he was working with yelled and mocked him, trying to make him feel as bad as possible. The blonde boy didn't really care what they were saying, and he just left after packing his things away. He sighed as the door closed behind him and he walked to the matron's office.


	6. Chapter 6

The matron didn't really speak to him much; she just put gel on the burn and bandaged it up. There really was nothing else to do. Emil stayed in the medical room, waiting for the next lesson to start. It was history and that meant he didn't have to say much, or at least he hoped not. Emil downed his fourth cup of water. The medical room had a drinking water fountain so he made use of it, drinking a lot to give himself something to do. He sighed as the bell went, signalling for Emil to go to lessons. He reluctantly stood up from the chair he was sitting on and he walked to lessons, sighing more as he did so. He noticed, as he made his way to his lesson, that he had a slight need to use the bathroom... But it didn't matter, after this it was lunch so he could go then.

Emil reached his classroom and sat down for history, unpacking his stuff. His text book had a picture of a soldier on it, and previously, he could barely look at it. But now, after the letter he had received, it was impossible to look at. He shook his head, knowing that he shouldn't think about the letter at the moment, or he would just start crying again. He didn't want to do that, especially not in front of this teacher...

"Okay class, settle down. You have an essay to write today, and that means there will be total silence throughout this lesson. I will write the question on the board, and this essay should be 1000 words. If you don't finish it in this lesson, then it shall have to be completed for homework, understood?" Mr Taylor said, writing the question on the board. Emil smiled a bit, relieved that this meant that he didn't have to talk to anyone and no one could talk to him. He took down the essay question and the date, getting ready to write. His bladder pulsed, quite hard, making Emil tense up a bit as it reminded him of his need. He blushed and forgot it again, trying to focus on this essay. This lesson was 1 and a half hours long and he hoped he could hold it that long, though he was getting desperate, quite fast. He ignored his need and continues writing, trying to focus on what he was doing.

15 minutes passed and the boy resorted to crossing his legs over, trying to hold it. His desperation was growing faster, and he could feel the four cups of water sloshing around inside him. He was doing quite well on his essay though; he was sure that he'd finish it during the lesson. He kept focussing on it, trying to push his other needs to the back of his mind, where he could tend to them later.

20 minutes passed from that moment and he felt himself leak. He gasped and stopped writing, refraining from putting a hand on his crotch to help himself. He blushed a deep red colour, feeling his underwear get wet from the small spurt of urine. This wasn't like him; this problem was rare! He could usually hold it much longer than this... What was wrong with him? His hands were shaking as he forced himself not to leak any more. 55 minutes left... He could hold it, right? He shakily took hold of his pen and began writing more, focusing on the essay and squeezing his legs together, tighter.

10 minutes passed, and Emil was shaking. He had leaked a bit more, and he could see a small wet patch forming on his crotch. He shakily and reluctantly lifted his hand to get the teachers attention, though he never dreamed of doing something like this.

"What is it, Emil?" Mr Taylor asked, sighing as he stared at the blushing boy.

"Um... Can I please go to the bathroom?" he shyly asked, hoping that he would just say yes and he could go and it would all be fine.

"This is a lesson, Emil, of course you can't! Get back to work!" Mr Taylor demanded, giving Emil an evil eye. Emil bit his lip, but he nodded and looked back at his work. Well this was just great; now his class was staring at him and smirking. If he showed how desperate he was then he would never live it down!

It only took 5 minutes before a longer jet of urine left the boy, soaking his crotch more. His hands instantly shot to his crotch, holding himself. Some other members of his class noticed and sniggered at him, seeing how desperate he was. Emil went bright red, praying that he would be able to hold this until the end of the lesson. His hand felt warm ad wet again as he let more go, hearing a soft dripping noise as a small bit trickled off his chair and splashed onto the floor. If he stood up, people would easily see the wetness on his trousers. Tears welled in his eyes as he leaked a little bit more, hearing more dripping noises. Some of his other class mates were trying to laugh quietly at him, seeing the liquid drip off the chair and splash on the floor. Emil could hear them silently laughing, and he almost burst into tears. He took a deep breath and took one of his hands out of his crotch area and continues to write, determined to not wet himself.

BANG! A huge book fell off a high shelf and hit the floor, making the whole class jump in fear. They all panicked a bit, wondering what it was, but Mr Taylor just rolled his eyes.

"Calm down everyone, it was just a book" he sighed, before picking the book up and putting it back in its place. Silence began to resume, apart from one sound of liquid, trickling and splashing. Everyone turned to look at where it was coming from; Emil. The noise had scared him into losing control, and he couldn't hold back anymore. His urine flowed freely out of him, and he turned a dark red colour as a puddle formed around his chair. Tears trickled down his cheeks as he sobbed, quietly, feeling everyone's eyes on him. His trousers were soaked and so was the chair and the floor, but he kept going. He had never been so embarrassed in his life.

"For goodness's sake, Emil!" Mr Taylor groaned, angry at him for doing this. "You're 16! You are mature enough to hold your urine, you're not a baby, however much you may cry for no reason!" The class began laughing hysterically at Emil. Emil couldn't believe what he had done in front of everyone. He finished peeing and he covered his face with his hands, sobbing. He just wanted to curl up and die at that moment; he would never live this down. His class laughed and called him names and teased him, and he felt sick with embarrassment.

"You know what? Get out of my classroom! Get out!" Mr Taylor yelled at the sobbing boy. Emil nodded and packed his things up, feeling so humiliated. He shakily stood up, feeling uncomfortable and wet, before he ran out of the class room, crying hard. He ran until he could no longer hear his class laughing at what he did. He couldn't stand the feeling of the wet trousers and he just wanted to change out of them. He went to the medical room for the second time that day, embarrassed and blushing. As he opened the door, there was a different matron in there. A young, friendly looking woman who was busy writing stuff down in a folder. Emil closed the door behind him, blushing even more. The young matron looked at him and smiled for a moment, but then noticed his wet trousers and tears. She smiled sympathetically, standing up and walking to him.

"Hello... Come and sit down here..." she said softly, gently taking his arm and setting him down on a wooden chair. Emil continued to cry, though he didn't make a sound. "What happened?" she asked, sitting back down in her spiny-chair. Emil sighed, looking at the floor.

"I... I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom and... I couldn't make it..." he sobbed, feeling so humiliated. The matron gently rubbed his arm, sympathy showing through her actions.

"Hey, it's okay, don't worry... These things happen to the best of us" she said, quietly. Emil couldn't believe this. There was a nice person at his school! This was a rare thing! He looked her in the eye, getting less embarrassed. She smiled at his beautiful violet eyes and then took a box of tissues handing them to him.

"What I'm going to do is call your home and get someone to bring you some clothes" she said. Emil froze, remembering the only person there was Tino, who probably hated him now. However, he just wanted to get changed and he was too tired to argue with the nurse, so he just let her do so. He shyly watched her as she found his information profile on the computer in there and she found the number given on the phone. Emil waited in suspense as it rang; wondering if Tino would pick up or not. Maybe he wasn't there. Maybe he had gone back home... Maybe he really did hate him...

"Hello? Hi! I'm the matron at Emil's school... Oh, hello! No, everything's fine... Well, everything isn't fine, but Emil isn't injured... I just need you to bring over some spare clothes for him, he had an accident in class, you see... Just trousers and underwear will be fine... Uhuh, okay, thank you very much! See you in a bit" The nurse said, before putting the phone down. She smiled at Emil. "Was that your brother?" she asked. Emil shook his head.

"He's my best friend... But also kinda my roommate..." he explained, wiping the tears away as he tried to stop crying. The nurse smiled, nodding.

"The information here says you have a brother... How old is he?" She asked sweetly.

"19..." he replied, smiling a little bit and sniffing.

"Does he have a job?" she asked innocently. The smile was wiped off Emil's face, and he bit his lip, thinking for a moment.

"Nurse... Can I tell you something... Secret?" he asked, shyly. She looked at him puzzled but then smiled, nodding.


	7. Chapter 7

"Of course!" she said "But just know that there are some secrets that I'm not allowed to keep... But some I can!" she said. Emil nodded, judging his secret as one she'll be able to keep. He reached into his bag and found the letter that he got that morning, dread stealing over him as he held it. He handed it to her, tears again falling down his cheeks as he remembered the three words. The nurse was slightly confused but she opened the letter, reading through it. A loud silence passed, as she read it, the only noises being heard were the sniffles of Emil. The nurse's face drooped as she read the meaningful part. She finished reading the letter before looking up at Emil, seeing him curled up in a ball on the chair, crying. She gently pulled him into a hug, feeling sorry for the boy.

"I am so sorry..." she whispered, holding him as he cried. "That's awful... Why did you come to school today? It would have been better if you had stayed at Home to have some time to yourself and your feelings!" she said softly. Emil nodded, wishing he had stayed at home with Tino. "How are your parents taking it?" Emil sighed and tensed up a little bit.

"We don't have parents... It was usually just Lukas and I, but then money was low so he had to get a job; in the army... Tino came round from time to time to help out, but he's 20 so he has his own work at Uni to get to... But for the moment, he's with me..." he cried, explaining to her his life story. She held him tighter, feeling more and more sorry for him. "Lukas meant so much to me... He was the person who raised me and cared for me and... And I can't believe he's gone!" Emil sobbed loudly for once, leaning into the nurses hold. It felt good to get his feelings out.

"Does the school know about you being an orphan?" she asked, quietly. Emil shook his head, sighing.

"I don't want the school to know... I just want to be a normal kid..." he cried, looking up at the nurse. "I don't want people to know..."

"The problem is, Emil, now your brother isn't there to protect you... You can't be on your own... You have to be in some form of care! Even if it means that you're adopted or put in a care home..." The nurse explained. Emil looked at her with fear.

"N-no! Never! I'm never going back to a care home, nor am I going to be adopted! I could never!" Emil cried in helplessness.

"How long was your brother fighting for before he was ki-... Reported missing?" The Nurse asked, gently. Emil looked away, not wanting to tell her anymore.

"It doesn't matter... It never mattered..." Emil muttered, looking at the ground.

"Emil... It does matter... How long?" the nurse asked, in a more soothing manner this time.

"... 8 months" Emil confessed, seeing no other option than to do so. The nurse gasped.

"8 months?! On your own?! Emil, that's not good! You must have been 15 when he left!" The nurse exclaimed, worrying about the young boy.

"I have been just fine! I'm surviving, I'm okay, everything is fine!" Emil said, trying to reason with her.

"No, Emil. Everything is not fi-" the nurse was cut off by the phone ringing. She swiftly picked it up, answering with the formal answer you would expect.

"Good afternoon, school medical room, how can I help?" she said, automatically. "Oh, yes of course! Send him in" she put the phone down, before looking at Emil again. "Your friend is here with your clothes... You'll change in here, okay?"

"Oh... Okay..." Emil sighed. He was very nervous about seeing Tino, after what he had said to him that morning. Guilt washed over him as he saw the blonde boy walk in. Tino looked equally as anxious, but also sympathetic when he saw Emil.

"Uh... Hi..." Tino said, mainly to the nurse. He was gripping a bag of clothes, obviously to give to Emil.

"Good afternoon, sir. Tino, is it?" The nurse said, kindly to him. Tino smiled and nodded, walking further into the medical room. "Thank you for bringing these clothes. I'll just leave you to change, Emil, and then I must talk to you both" The nurse said, before she stood up and walked out. An awkward silence passed between the two boys, neither of them making eye contact or anything. Emil couldn't take it. He'd just lost his brother, he wasn't going to lose his only friend as well. He stood up and ran to Tino, throwing his arms around him and crying. The older boy was a bit surprised at the action, but then accepted the embrace happily. He didn't say anything, he just put his arms around the crying boy, rubbing his back to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry, Tino!" Emil sobbed, hugging his friend tighter.

"I'm sorry too..." Tino whispered to him, gently stroking his hair.

"W-why are you sorry? You were just trying to help me and I was horrible to you!" Emil continued to cry, making a damp patch on Tino's top. Tino didn't even seem to notice.

"You are going through something really tough right now; you have every excuse to be like that! Of course you were angry; your brother is..." Tino trailed off, unable to say the next words. Emil knew them anyway, so it didn't matter.

"That still doesn't mean that I can just be so mean to you!" Emil cried, feeling so bad about everything. Tino sighed, before sitting down on a sofa, gesturing for Emil to sit next to him. The younger boy blushed and shook his head.

"I can't... My trousers are... Uh..." Emil stuttered, still feeling uncomfortable in those clothes. Tino smiled reassuringly and handed him the bag of clothes to change into. Emil took them gratefully before darting behind the changing curtain and eagerly taking his soiled clothes off.

"What happened, anyway?" Tino asked "I mean... About your, Uh, accident" Emil blushed more, embarrassed still by the whole ordeal.

"I don't know what happened... I had to go so I asked and my teacher said no, but usually I'm able to hold it for... Hours! I don't know why I couldn't this time..." Emil sighed, feeling ashamed.

"Hey, it's not your fault! You're obviously distressed by the letter this morning... The stress of losing your brother is probably what caused it... It's not your fault at all..." Tino said, softly. Emil was soon changed, throwing his wet clothes into the bag.

"Well... I hope it doesn't become a habit..." Emil said, before walking out from behind the curtain. He sat down next to Tino, leaning into his friend, tears still falling down his cheeks. Tino gently wound his arm around the younger boy, pulling him closer in the embrace.


	8. Chapter 8

"Tino... What do I do now? M-my life is pointless without Lukas..." Emil cried, snuggling into his friend. Tino's heart broke as he saw the boy, looking and sounding completely defeated. He had no sense of hope in him, and it hurt Tino to see him like this. He had been reduced to nothing, and Tino knew it would be a hard time trying to get him to smile again, even the slightest bit. But he had to try.

"Emil... I brought some other stuff with me" Tino said, taking a bag, resting on his back, off. He unzipped it and pulled out some papers which looked like newspaper articles. Emil looked at them, confused, before Tino handed him one. The lighter blonde boy took it, reading through it.

'Lost and found, after 3 months of his family believing he was dead, he came back' was the title of the article he had chosen. It described the experience of a family who had been told that the father had been killed, but he had come back anyway. Emil stared at the article, unsure of what to think. He took another one from Tino's hands, examining it. Same type of story; a mother this time, believed dead, but came home anyway. The rest of the articles that Tino was holding were the same.

"Lukas hasn't been declared dead; just believed it. He's actually just missing..." Tino said, smiling sympathetically at the boy. Emil smiled back.

"But... These are one in a million cases that happened. What chances are there that I'm going to get my brother back?" Emil sighed, clutching the articles, feeling the smallest bit of hope in him.

"There's always a way, Emil. Are you really going to just give up hope? Look at what you're losing if you do!" Tino said, handing Emil a folder. Emil shakily took it from his friend, having a good idea of what was inside. He opened the folder, finding a picture of Lukas, only about 3 years old, holding baby Emil. Lukas looked... Well, stoical, of course, but there was a hint of happiness in his eyes. Emil smiled and turned the page, seeing many more colourful pictures. However, it was not always happy pictures, especially since these ones were taken at the care home. It was mainly just the two of them, sitting together, looking at the other kids playing. It took a while for Emil to get used to not having any friends besides his brother, and Lukas sometimes found him crying in private about how Mandy didn't let him play in the sandpit or Josh wouldn't let him play soldiers or Kate wouldn't let him play house, but Lukas was always there to comfort him when he felt lonely.

Emil turned the pages, finding pictures taken when they were older, but not by that much. There was one with about a 6 year old Emil and a 9 year old Lukas. The older brother was playing the piano whilst Emil sat on top of it, listening to him play. Whilst the other kids would just bash the keys and make them sticky and create horrible noises, Lukas would play beautiful songs which sometimes sent Emil to sleep. On the piano. Lukas was so talented at music, and Emil had always wished to be as good as him at it. Then, in the book, came the group photo of all the kids in the home. Lukas and Emil were at the back, of course, Lukas looking stoic and Emil hiding behind Lukas. The rest of the kids smiling and looking happy; but not the brothers.

Emil flicked across a few more pages and found pictures taken not long before they left the care home. 12 year old Emil and 15 year old Lukas. Emil looked through these pictures and noticed something. In almost every one, there was a group of girls in the back ground, staring in awe of his brother. Emil smirked, remembering the moment where Lukas suddenly got attractive to girls, and they wouldn't stop looking at him with love in their eyes. Lukas never really cared about it too much; they were just frivolous minded girls after all; nothing that would stand in the way of the two brothers' friendship. Then there was the picture of the day they left. Lukas had asked for a picture of them to be taken that day, though Emil didn't know why at the time. And in the picture, Lukas was actually smiling! Emil smiled at the picture, knowing it was a rare sight. All the pictures after that were just ones of them after they had run away; like Lukas' 16th Birthday party, and Christmases, and so on. But at the end of the folder, there was a picture that made Emil gasp. It was a picture, going back to when Emil was 3 and Lukas was 6, and they both had fake army helmets on and both held toy rifles. They were standing facing each other, whilst Lukas saluted his brother, who was standing on tip-toes, saluting back. Written on some paper below the picture was a message.

'Fighting a war without you by my side will never be the same, Emil.  
I love you  
Lukas'

Emil stared at the paper and the picture, as fresh tears pricked his eyes. He didn't know if they were tears or happiness, sadness or anything else, they were just... Tears. All of these memories... They couldn't just be gone, could they? Lukas couldn't be gone... It wasn't fair...

"Emil... Are you really going to give up hope? When you still have a chance of seeing your brother again?" Tino asked, holding his friend tighter. Emil hugged Tino equally as tight, ever glad that he was there.

"Thank you, Tino... Thank you so much..." He sobbed, but he was pretty sure now that these tears were a mixture of hope, sadness and determination. The two of them stayed like that for a while. Not a word was spoken; the silence was enough, and soon, Emil had calmed down. A knocking came to the door.

"Hello? Tino? Emil? Are you done?" The nurse said, behind the door.

"Y-Yes, thank you..." Emil said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. The nurse walked in, smiling sympathetically to the boys.

"Good... Now there is something serious that we need to discuss. Emil, since your brother isn't there to look after you... You're going to have to be fostered" The nurse said, sighing. She knew that Emil wouldn't take this well, but it was the law.

"N-no... No I don't need to be fostered! I'm okay... I'm not on my own, I have Tino! He looks after me..." Emil begged the nurse. She looked up at Tino.

"How old are you?" she asked. He blushed slightly as she asked.

"20..." he confessed. "Uh, almost 21..."

"Hm... I think you have to be older to adopt..." The Nurse said.

"He's not adopting me! Just doing what my brother did when he was still here..." Emil sighed, looking at the photo album.

"Nurse, I will do everything in my power to keep him safe... I can never be a parent to him, especially since he's never had any parents, but I can just keep a watchful eye over him and he can come to me when he needs me!" Tino said, hugging Emil slightly tighter.

"Well... I guess... Since he's 16... Oh, what the heck, as long as you promise, Tino, that you'll be living with him, or he'll be living with you!" The nurse said, smirking in defeat. Emil panicked, because Tino was still at University, and probably wouldn't be able to accommodate him.

"Of course! We'll always be with each other" Tino said, much to Emil's surprise. Tino subtly winked at his friend, having a plan in his head.

"All serene then. Now, I trust that you won't really want to go back to class after all that's happened, Emil..." the nurse sighed, smiling sympathetically. Emil blushed and shook his head, really not able to face his class after that. "Fair enough, I can send you home..." The nurse said, smiling more. Emil's face lit up a bit as she said that, and he clutched Tino with relief.

"Really? I'd really appreciate that..." Emil said, sighing. The nurse nodded, knowing that it was best if Emil went home. After filling in a few forms and making a call, she finally arranged for Emil to go home with Tino. Just as they were leaving, Tino turned to the Nurse.

"Thanks... For everything" Tino said, blushing a bit. The nurse smiled and bid them goodbye, and the two boys walked out of the school.

"When we get home..." Tino started, looking away from Emil. "Would you like to bake some cookies? Or cake? Or donuts? Anything!" he continued, smiling. Emil's grin grew wider.

"Yes, of course! That'd be amazing!" Emil said, before grabbing Tino's hand and running. "Let's hurry; the sooner they're made then the sooner we can eat them!" Emil continued. Tino blushed slightly as Emil held his hand and ran, but he didn't protest.

"Sounds good!"


	9. Chapter 9

It had been almost a month since the letter talking about Lukas' unconfirmed death had been given to Emil, and Tino had stuck by him every single day. It wasn't easy, it never would be, and it didn't help that Emil was bullied, but they were surviving. Sometimes Tino would hear Emil crying at night and he'd go and comfort him in his room, hugging him until he fell asleep, but Tino knew that the wound wouldn't be healed unless Lukas came back home. School was always a problem, and Emil still didn't have any friends there, and he would often come home crying and injured and depressed, but Tino would make sure that he was there to comfort the boy.

However Tino knew his time was running out; Uni would start again soon for him and then they would both have to move there. But that could possibly be a good thing; Emil would start a new school and make new friends who wouldn't tease him, but the problem was that Emil may not go so easily. Tino actually lived in Helsinki, and that's where he went to University; he was only in Norway for the holidays and since his holiday home was so close to where Emil and Lukas lived, it was convenient for him to do this for Emil. But he didn't know how the younger boy would take this news of having to move all the way to Finland. Tino sighed as he drummed his fingers against the table he sat at, waiting for Emil to get back from school. It wasn't long until he heard the familiar click of the front door opening and then closing and he sat up straight, waiting for the boy to walk in.

"Hi Tino..." He spoke as he entered the kitchen. Tino smiled at the boy, thought he was still nervous.

"Hey Emil... How was school?" Tino dared to ask, though Emil didn't seem as depressed as some days.

"It was okay. I just kept out of the way of the mean kids and I was fine, I guess..." the boy continued before taking his coat off and hanging it up.

"Well that's better than being attacked... Uh, Emil, I have to talk to you..." Tino finally confessed. Emil looked at Tino with a quizzical and slightly worried expression.

"Oh? What is it?" he gingerly asked. Tino gestured for him to sit down at the table and he did so, more worried than quizzical now.

"Well... As you know, I'm a student at the University of Helsinki..." Tino began. Emil nodded, hearing the deflated tone in his friend's voice. "And... I have to be your guardian until you're old enough to legally live life by yourself. Trouble is... My University term starts again in just two weeks!" Tino explained, looking at the table, clearly stressed about the dilemma found in his hands. Emil froze, unsure of what to think. He didn't know what was going to come next. "So... I kind of have to take you with me to Helsinki. Don't worry about it, I live alone in a house with three bedrooms so you can just live with me easily... I can find you a new school and we'll have a new life!" Tino suggested, trying to make it sound as positive as he could. Emil was still frozen, unable to speak for a while. He thought about what Tino had said, how he could have a new life. It did sound appealing, but there was something wrong.

"But... Lukas... What if he comes home and doesn't know where I am? I can't leave this place; it's my home! Lukas and I live here and it holds so many memories!" Emil stuttered, his eyes filling with tears. Tino sighed; he knew this would be the case.

"Okay... Well, I'll give you some time to think, though you have think fast... I'm sorry this is such short notice..." Tino sighed, gently taking Emil's hand in his own and squeezing it reassuringly.

"You sound like I have a choice! Do I have a choice?" he asked, looking at Tino and squeezing his hand back. Tino bit his lip and looked away.

"Yeah... You do..." He gulps, taking a deep breath. "If you really can't bear to leave this place, then I can give up going to university at Helsinki and somehow try and get into Oslo next year... Hopefully, that should work..." Tino explained, but Emil could sense the reluctant attitude in his voice. He paused again. Tino would risk giving up his education and degree just to look after him? Emil's heart broke. He knew Tino cared about him, but now... Now he was acting like another brother!

"N-no, Tino... That's not necessary... I don't want you to risk your education for me! It's not fair... I-I'll go with you to Helsinki..." Emil stuttered, trying to smile, but he was clearly depressed about it all. Tino gently reached out to take his hand.

"Emil, if you really don't want to move, then I'm fine with changing universities! Honestly I am!" Tino said, actually smiling. Emil didn't have the heart to let Tino do this. After all the Finnish kid had done for Emil, and how he had asked for nothing in return, it wasn't fair.

"Tino... I want to go to Helsinki! I'm fluent in Finnish and I think it would be nice to go to a different country; start a new life, especially after all that has happened..." Emil confessed, squeezing Tino's hand back. Tino blushed a little and looked Emil in the eye.

"Emil, you don't have to decide right now, just decide in the next three or four days.. It's whatever you're happier with that matters, not me!" Tino said, smiling. "I had better leave you to do your homework, don't worry too much about it. Just do whatever you want!" Tino finished before standing up and walking away, into the kitchen. Emil sighed, thinking it better to continue with homework before thinking about it. He picked up his pens and began to write.

***

Emil stared at his digital clock on the bedside table. It was 1:00am! He couldn't sleep; his brain was working so hard on this decision. He was so grateful to Tino for everything he had done, and he didn't want to take it all for granted! But... If he left, what if Lukas came back?! What if he was alive and they just never saw each other because he moved away? Emil sighed, riddled by these choices. He turned to face away from the clock, thinking that maybe if he could just sleep, then in the morning, he would have the answer.

"Oh Lukas... What if you are out there? If you're missing, then you could be anywhere... You could be being tortured..." Emil panicked, imagining his stoical brother screaming in pain with blood running down his broken, destroyed body, pleading for the enemy to stop. The younger boy instantly burst into tears, unable to bear such a thought. He shook violently under the covers, crying with fear about what could be happening to his poor brother. He barely noticed the pair of warm arms wrapping around him, and the feeling of someone pulling him close. Emil opened his eyes again to see Tino, hugging him tightly and gently stroking his hair. Emil instantly reacted, throwing his own arms around Tino and hugging him closely, needing this hug more than ever right now.

"T-Tino... Lukas is missing... What if he's being tortured or something right now?!" Emil sobbed into the older boy's chest. Tino quietly shushed the younger boy, calming him down.

"I'm not going to lie; it is a possibility. But that might not be the case! He may be perfectly fine! You have to keep optimistic about this, Emil" Tino whispered, hugging the crying boy tighter.

"I-I don't want him to be in so much pain! I just want him to be safe!" Emil kept crying, but calming down also.

"Emil, it's so late and you're not going to think straight if you're tired... You need to sleep; then you can think about this rationally! Okay?" Tino softly said. Emil nodded, being lulled into a sleep by Tino's warmth and soothing words. His eyes began closing as he slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

"Goodnight, Emil" Tino said, gently kissing his forehead.

"G-Goodnight... Lukas..."


	10. Chapter 10

"Well I guess it just proves something, doesn't it?" Emil sighed, blushing intensely as he took another bite out of his breakfast.

"That you were confused and tired and mistook me for your brother last night?" Tino smirked, remembering what had happened quite clearly.

"N-no! It proves that... That you've been so kind to me that... You're a bit like a brother now..." Emil confessed, a little embarrassed. "And so, Tino... I want to go to Finland. I think... I want to start a new life, with you in it... Like an adopted older brother!" Emil said, trying to sound stern. Tino stopped what he was doing, which was blending a smoothie, and he sat down opposite Emil across the circular table.

"Emil, remember this isn't about me; it's about you! Honestly, I don't mind if you want to stay here!" Tino said, but Emil had made up his mind.

"I'm not happy here. Everything is painful except you, Tino! Please, let's go to Helsinki and make a new life... There's really no other logical option..." Emil sighed, smiling meekly. Tino thought for a moment, looking away as he did so.

"Emil... Are you sure you want to do this?" Tino asked, looking the younger boy on the eye. Emil nodded, sure of his decision.

"Yes" He whispered. And with that, Tino smiled widely and stood up, his eyes glowing.

"Oh I'm so glad, Emil! You're going to love Helsinki; I just know it!"

***

Emil sighed as he packed his school bag, getting ready for the day ahead of him. It was just one week until he was due to leave for Helsinki, and he was getting more and more excited about it by the second. He didn't know how to thank Tino enough for everything he had done; it was too much! He smiled as he thought of his best friend, thinking about how good life will be when they live together in Finland. It was like a dream come true. Emil just had to bear through five more days of school and then that was it; no more bullies or horrible teachers! It would just be a new nicer school in which he would hopefully make friends.

"Emil? Hey, hurry up or you'll be late!" Tino said, walking into his room. Emil smiled at his cheeriness, glad to see him as he always would be.

"Yeah, I know... I'm almost done!" Emil said, zipping his bag up and slinging it over his shoulder.

"All good, then! Have a nice day; it's your last week!" Tino smiled more, excited about Helsinki as much as Emil was. Emil nodded and smiled, walking out of the room with Tino following him.

"I know! I'll see you later, Tino!" He giggled, before running off, a smile plastered onto his face. Tino barely had a chance to bid him goodbye before he left his home, running to school. Tino couldn't remember seeing his brother so happy since Lukas had gotten him that toy Puffin on his 13th Birthday. He never really understood why he liked it so much, but it was sweet to see him so pleased with it. It really looked like Emil was happy with moving to Helsinki! The older boy sighed, content with his younger friend's reaction, glad that Emil will finally be facing some happier times again, especially since he was moving school.

It wasn't long before Emil was sitting in class, staring out of the window. The clouds were few and far between and the sun was shining onto the green land below. Emil didn't care what Mr Taylor was talking about; all he cared about was the fact that it wasn't long until he could start a new life with Tino. Of course, Tino would never replace Lukas, ever, and Emil knew it was going to take a long time to recover from his brother's death, which he had now come to accept. It still hurt though; there wasn't a second that passed where he wasn't sad about it. He still wished that his brother was alive, though that seemed so impossible to Emil now.

"Emil! Are you paying attention?! Or are you simply staring out of the window?!" Mr Taylor yelled, making the boy jump. He blushed slightly and looked away, but it didn't bother him too much; he'd be leaving that place soon enough.

"U-uh, sorry sir..." Emil sighed, looking at the board Mr Taylor was writing on.

"No, Emil, I have HAD it with your rude and discourteous behaviour! Will you EVER learn to be a half decent member of society? Or will you forever remain as scum?!" He yelled. Emil looked at him, hurt. Were teachers allowed to call you scum? He sighed again and looked away, though it wasn't enough to make him cry. "I really don't understand WHAT you're aiming for in life, but... You know what? You're a failure! You'll never amount to anything at all! Ever!" Mr Taylor continued to shout, his words sticking into Emil like painful daggers. Finally, tears filled his eyes and he looked away, feeling dreadful about the words he had just heard. "And when you don't get what you want, then you just CRY about it! I bet your parents are sick of you! I bet you make them wish they were dead! I really do think they'd rather be dead than be your guardians!"

It was so quick. One moment, Emil was sitting in his chair, and the next, he was standing over a trembling Mr Taylor on the floor, watching blood drip out of his teacher's nose. His fists were clenched, and he realised what he had done. He had just punched him.

"You... You have no idea..." Emil hissed, pure anger burning like fire inside him. "You don't know who I am. You don't know what my background is, what I'm going through, or what my future holds. But you don't care, do you? You just say whatever the hell you like and don't expect people to get angry about it! Well let me tell you... Let me tell you that my parents ARE dead! They died just after I was born! Leaving me and my brother to fend for ourselves!" Emil sobbed, hearing some of his class mates gasp. He gave his teacher an angry look, as if he could shoot arrows with his eyes. "But I guess they died because they hated me, they saw the fact that I was doomed to be a failure, isn't that right, Mr Taylor? It WASN'T in fact because they were trapped in a house fire which I would have died in too if it wasn't for my brother saving my life, was it? Oh my IGNORANCE to this fact! I am SO glad you showed me this truth! Thank you, Sir!" Emil screamed the last part, before moving away from his teacher and collapsing to his knees, becoming a sobbing mess in front of his teacher and class. There was a silence which passed, only mildly filled with the sound of Emil's occasional whimpers. He shyly looked at his teacher, seeing the blood still pour down his face from his nose after he had punched him, but his expression was one of shock and... Sympathy.

"I... I'm sorry..." Emil cried before he stood up and ran out of the room, not even bothering to grab his school bag or other resources. He didn't know where he was running to, but he didn't want to face his class. He was sure that they would all tease him more after what he had just revealed, and he just couldn't take it anymore. He found himself running outside, into the school gardens. It was raining, but he didn't care. He sat behind a hedge, curling up and sobbing quietly as the rain saturated his clothes.

"Lukas... P-please just come home... I need you more than I need anyone else... I want you more than I want anyone else!" Emil sobbed, trying to imagine his brother pulling him into a hug. It wasn't the same as the real thing, and Emil just sobbed harder, wishing he could just die along with his brother. Not even Tino could make up for his loss.

Emil stayed like that for a while, his clothes soaking through as it poured, nearly as fast as his tears did. He didn't know how long he had stayed like that, but he knew that soon enough, people would go and look for him to tease him or for whatever reason, so he shakily stood up, slowly making his way back inside. He knew, by the sounds of the bells that had passed when he had sat there, that his class would no longer be in that lesson, so he could hopefully just grab his bag and go somewhere else.

He was relieved to find the class empty, and his stuff left exactly as it was. He quickly packed it away and picked his bag up, sighing as he did so. Was there really any point to him staying in school? He may as well just go home; he wasn't going to learn anything that day. If he stayed, he'd just end up with another gang of boys beating him up. He hastily signed out at the school office, before he simply walked out, ignoring a teacher calling his name.


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh? Emil? What are you doing back home so early? And... Why are your clothes soaked?" Tino asked as Emil entered his house. He looked around, seeing that Tino was doing more packing for them to leave for Helsinki. There were boxes everywhere, and paper work spread on the table.

"I... I lost it. I couldn't take being bullied by my teachers and the students anymore" He said, making a sad growl noise.

"Oh, that's good! You're finally standing up for yourse-"

"I punched my teacher in the face."

A silence passed. Tino looked at the normally quiet, shy boy, trembling in front of him. He didn't say anything, he just took Emil's hand, closing the front door and walking him along to the bathroom, thinking it best if Emil had a hot bath; he looked freezing!

"And then... I told my whole class that my parents died in that house fire. And then I cried and ran away" Emil continued, explaining what happened in a way that suggested it was completely normal. Tino just listened, knowing it was best if he didn't talk for the moment. He turned the tap on in the bath, making sure the temperature of the water was just right.

"So I guess even if I did stay here, I would have been expelled. I made my teacher's nose bleed. My class was shocked. I guess I was just sick of being constantly picked on and being seen as worthless." Emil sighed, grateful to Tino that he was running him a bath; he was so cold and stressed and this was just what he needed.

"You know what? Well done." Tino said, looking Emil in the eye and smiling. "I wouldn't usually promote this kind of violence in a place like a school, but I mean, in your case, your teacher was bullying you just as much as the students. It was awful seeing you constantly crushed by them, and I'm just glad that you have finally picked yourself up and fought back, even if it was violent. Well done, Emil." Tino continued, smiling more. "Just don't do that in Helsinki..." He giggled, making Emil smirk also.

"Thanks, Tino..." Emil shyly said, a little embarrassed by the praise.

"I'll leave you to bathe; you look so cold and wet so I think that this is best at the moment..." Tino smiled as he was about to leave. "Oh, and I don't mean to be a pain, but I don't think you should go to school tomorrow, after what happened today..." Emil smirked.

"Oh I HAVE to go to school tomorrow, Tino! Maybe after hitting my teacher, people won't bully me so much... Come on, just for tomorrow? So I can see the reaction?" Emil chuckled a bit, enjoying this sudden confidence he had after punching his teacher. Tino smiled mischievously and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, if you want to..." He laughed before leaving the room, giving Emil the privacy to bathe alone.

***

Even after punching his teacher and finally getting his feelings out, Emil was still scared. He tied his shoe laces, noticing his hands shaking a bit. Maybe hitting his teacher wasn't such a good idea; maybe the police were there waiting for him! Maybe Mr Taylor would treat him even worse now! Even though it was only for the four days he had left at that hellish excuse for a school, he didn't want to go through that trauma even more! Emily sighed as he stood up straight after tying his laces, trying to put on a brave face.

"Just be careful, okay?" Tino spoke as he walked up to the scared teen.

"I will be... I don't plan on hitting anyone else..." he said, trying to make a joke out of it all.

"You didn't plan on hitting anyone to start with, but oh well" Tino smirked. Emil smiled at him, trying his best not to look scared, but it didn't exactly work. "Remember I'm here if you wanna just run back home"

"I know, thank you..." Emil said, smiling a little more. "Well, I'm off"

"Good luck~" Tino called as Emil left. It wasn't quite raining at the moment, but the dark grey clouds in the sky menacingly hinted at the possibility of it pouring later. The school boy did not want to get stuck in the rain, so he ran faster. It wasn't long until he finally got there, taking a deep breath before he walked in. The blonde didn't make a sound as he wished to be unnoticed, as usual, even though that rarely worked. He shyly made his way to his locker, unlocking the door and sorting his stuff out. He dropped a book on the floor and as bent down to pick it up, he made eye contact with the girl who threw burning chemicals on him. He froze a bit, expecting her to call him a name or something, but she did something that he never expected her to do at all. She smiled at him, and not in a teasing way! In a sympathetic way! Emil was confused; maybe she just mistook him for someone else. He continued to sort his locker out, before closing it and walking off. He then noticed that everyone looked at him and smiled in a friendly or sympathetic way, as if he had never been teased and bullied by these people. It was a little bit unsettling for him; why were they acting like this?

"Hey... Emil?" a certain voice said. Emil froze in fear as he looked to see the gang of boys who had cut him with the blade all those weeks ago. Though they constantly beat him up and teased him even after that, the cuts they made then were definitely the worst in Emil's mind. Now he just expected another beating from them, and he trembled a little bit as he looked at them.

"Uh... We're really sorry for... For all that we've put you through. We just teased you because you cry a lot, but now we realise why and... Uh..." one of them started. Emil was completely shocked. Did they really just apologise to him?

"Yeah, and if anyone is any trouble for you then we'll smash 'em!" another one in the gang said.

"W-why are you doing this?" Emil asked, slightly freaked by all of this.

"Because we heard about what happened to your family... It sucks and we would probably cry a lot too if we were in your position" they explained. Of course; the entire school would know by now wouldn't they? Emil blushed a little and looked away. It wasn't that he wasn't used to being the gossip of school, it was just he wasn't used to having true rumours spread about him.

"Oh... Um..." Emil stuttered, unsure of what to say. Did this mean that people were finally going to be nice to him? The only problem was that he didn't want to be accepted through what he had been through, he wanted to be accepted because of who he was! But... Maybe if people respected him more, he could make friends who would like him for him! Emil smiled a little bit, thinking that things were finally looking up for him, even if it was only for four days.

"Well... Thanks, I guess..." he said shyly, taking a nervous step back. Just as one of the boys was about to speak, the bell went for lessons to start. Emil gulped, knowing that he had Mr Taylor first thing. Who knew what he would have to face in this first lesson. He walked slowly to his room, creeping in and trying not to be noticed by the others, but he stuck out like a sore thumb. The class went quiet as he made his way to his seat, and Emil trembled a little bit, thinking that he was maybe screwed for this lesson. He stole a quick glance up to notice Mr Taylor, looking towards him with a plaster over his nose. Emil sighed and looked away, feeling almost guilty about what he did. Almost.

"Good morning, Emil" Mr Taylor said, clearing his throat. Emil didn't look up; he was too scared to deal with this.

"G-good morning, Sir..." The trembling teen stammered, awaiting his punishment. He knew it was best to just apologise for what he did, even though he didn't want to, because maybe the punishment wouldn't be so bad. "Sir, about yesterday-"

"I'm sorry, Emil."

The boy was silent and he looked up, complete surprised at what he had just heard. Did his teacher who had hated him for all this time really just apologise to him?

"What I said yesterday was inappropriate, thoughtless, unprofessional and immoral. It was wrong of me to do so, especially in your case, Emil" Mr Taylor said, before walking up to the shy boy and placing a hand on his shoulder. "The trainee nurse made the school aware of your situation and that you are currently in care because your brother was recently killed in the army, yes?" Emil bit his lip and looked down. He wasn't angry at the nurse; she was only doing her job, but he knew his secrets had now been revealed to the whole school. He nodded in reply to his teacher, before receiving a gentle pat on the head. "I understand it must be hard for you; feel free to tell me if you need to leave the class at any time." And with that, Mr Taylor smiled at the boy and walked back to the front of the room. Emil was even more shocked at this; Mr Taylor was being nice?! Emil could get used to this...

The lesson proceeded as it usually would, minus the teacher shouting at him for whatever reason. It was a relief for Emil, though he just wished that the whole school didn't know about his personal life. It was going to be awkward for his last few days, and he knew people would ask him about it and he just didn't want to tell them anything. Plus, maybe people wouldn't stop bullying him. Maybe they are just acting like it for now because the teachers have told them to, and as soon as everything settles down again, it will all return to normal.

"Attention all school. There is to be an emergency assembly held instantly in the main hall. Please all attend as quickly as possible." The class stared at the speakers, confused by this request from the head teacher, but they all obeyed, standing up and walking out of class, Mr Taylor in front of them. Everyone was coming out of classes and making their way to the main hall, some were talking about their cluelessness as to what was happening, and some were guessing, but it looked like no one knew for sure. The students took their seats in the hall, a quiet mutter of confusion spreading through the hall as they did so. Emil shyly sat at the back, just a few seats away from the end of the isle. He sighed, thinking that it might just be the whole school being told off for the sins of one punk who had graffitied the town hall or something, and he really couldn't be bothered to listen, but he thought he might as well for the first part, to see what this was all about.

"Students, I apologise for taking you out of your lessons, but I really think this is an important occasion which the whole school should share in" The head master began, as he slowly pushed his glasses up his pointy nose. "A special guest has arrived in school, and I believe it only fair if everyone gets to share in this moment of him being here" He continued. Emil wondered who this man was and why was he so important. What, did the king of Jupiter come to visit? "So I am very pleased to invite this brave man to come here, can everyone give Mr Bondevik a warm welcome"

A boy, almost a full adult, walked onto the stage, his arm in a sling. He was wearing a cute blue sailor outfit, with a matching blue sailor hat to go with it. Several medals hung from his chest, of all different colours and shapes; there must have been at least 8 or 9, if not then more. His dull blue eyes, although stoical, were filled with relief and yet somewhat nervousness as he slowly walked on, wincing a little as he moved his injured arm awkwardly. Before the school even had a chance to clap him a welcome, they were interrupted by a yell.

"LUKAS!"


	12. Chapter 12

Emil literally leapt out of his chair, not caring that he stepped on a few students' feet. He didn't even care that the whole school was watching him frantically run up the isle towards the front. He didn't care that tears were streaming down his now red face as he stumbled and ran towards the boy who he had missed so much. His heart was pounding with both excitement and relief, and his head was spinning as if he could pass out; it was like seeing a ghost. Some people gasped a little in surprise at his outburst, but it barely made an impact on his emotional mind, which was swimming in an ocean of feelings. It felt like hours before Emil was even close to him, and as he looked up at his brother's face, he saw a tear trek down his own pale cheek.

Emil jumped, forgetting that his brother was clearly wounded, and he wrapped his flailing arms around Lukas, pulling him into the tightest embrace possible. Lukas let out a small whimper sound because of his arm, but he almost instantly wrapped his good arm around his sobbing younger brother. Emil buried his face into his brother's chest as he cried, unable to say or do anything else. It had been so long since he had felt his brother's arms around him, and he thought that he would never feel them again after he had received that letter. The brothers were so caught up in the moment that they didn't notice the rest of the school clapping and cheering for them, understanding how they must be feeling.

"D-don't you d-dare ever l-leave me ag-again..." Emil finally managed to hiccup after forcing himself to be more composed. He felt Lukas' grip on him tighten a bit, and a small drop of liquid fell on his head and he knew that Lukas was also crying.

"I won't... I promise..." Lukas whispered in a low voice as he just held his brother, also relieved to be back with him once more. "We'll always be together now..." Emil didn't reply; he didn't need to, he just continued to sob, feeling a damp patch on Lukas' top from where his tears had soaked the fabric. It didn't matter though, nothing mattered except the fact that after over 9 months of being apart, the brothers were finally reunited again, as they should be.

Tino's reaction was almost the same as Emil's. He cried and hugged Lukas also, but for a lot less time. Lukas had explained to them what had happened; he had been caught by the enemy, trying to save some children from a village which was going to be blown up and destroyed. He managed to save them, but he was taken hostage and kept as a prisoner of war for over a month, having to face things as bad as torture, and worse. The prisoner of war camp was then infiltrated by allies and liberated, and Lukas, along with the other prisoners there, were set free. However, not a single one escaped unharmed, and Lukas was deemed unfit to continue in the army due to the torture and testing on his legs meaning he could no longer run as fast as he used to be able to. Lukas was just grateful that he could still use his legs after what they did to them, so getting away with just not being able to run so fast was lucky in his opinion. Of course, it hurt and angered Emil to think of what these people had done to his poor brother, but Lukas told him that it was all in the past, and they had to focus on the future.

The near future included Tino having to go back to Helsinki to go to Uni, and Emil would stay at home with his brother. However, they promised Tino that they would visit him at Uni whenever they could, which meant that Tino wouldn't be so lonely.

"So Lukas, what are your medals for? You didn't say" Emil asked, pressed up against his brother as they sat on the train with Tino, taking him to the airport.

"Oh, well one of them is the Purple Heart, which is basically the army saying 'you tried'" Lukas started, making Emil giggle a bit. "Then there's two for bravery, one for faith, patience, leadership, perseverance, taking care of others, and finally one for survival skills." He continued, making Emil gasp.

"Well that sounds about right; you deserve every medal you got!" Emil smiled at his older brother, feeling immensely proud of him. Lukas gently ruffled his brother's hair, almost smiling at him. Almost.

"That's impressive, Lukas. Though I'm glad you're back! However it is sad that I'm going to have to leave Emil... It was fun being with him!" Tino said kindly, making Emil smile even more.

"Hands off, he's my brother!" Lukas joked, earning a laugh from both the other two boys. The rest of the journey went fast as they talked and joked about anything and everything, all of them happy to be with each other, before they reached the end of the line and it was time for Tino to fly. The three boys walked onto the runway, as the jet started up. Tino turned to look at them, seeing Emil's eyes filling with tears. This was remarkably familiar to him; it was like saying goodbye to another brother who he may not see for a while, though at least he wasn't being sent to die. Tino smiled sympathetically and hugged the younger boy, tightly.

"You'll obviously be okay without me, you've got Lukas now! Everything will be fine!" Tino said, holding the slightly shivering boy in his arms.

"I'm gonna miss you, Tino..." Emil sighed as a few tears escaped. He wanted him to stay as well, and it hurt to see him go.

"I'll miss you too, Emil" Tino said, a tear also escaping his eye. They stayed hugging for a while before they broke apart, both still crying. "I'll see you both again soon!"

"I wish you well with your studies, Tino" Lukas said, nodding at his friend. "And thanks for looking after my brother whilst I was off"

"It was my pleasure, Lukas!" Tino said, smiling and wiping the tears from his eyes. He smirked a little and saluted to them both. Emil laughed though he still cried, and he saluted back, trying to smile through the tears. The corners of Lukas' mouth twitched upwards as he saluted back, with his good arm. And then, with a final nod and a smile, Tino was off, climbing up the stairs to the jet and walking inside, disappearing from sight. Emil and Lukas stepped far back as they watched his plane take off into the bright blue sky as it headed for Helsinki.

"So, Emil, it's just you and me now" Lukas said as they walked back to catch the next train home. "What do you want to do?" Emil thought for a moment, before coming up with an idea.

"Lukas... Do we still have those plunger guns?" he asked, smirking a bit. Lukas nodded, a little confused. "Good, and we have lots of boxes to make forts..." Emil continued planning. Lukas twigged what he was doing and smirked a bit, rolling his eyes slightly but enjoying the idea.

"You wanna play soldiers?" Lukas asked, gently putting his arm around his brother's shoulder. Emil nodded with a mischievous grin. "Well, it's not going to be easy for you; I didn't get all those medals for nothing!" Lukas continued, gently shoving his brother, playfully.

"Bring it!"

*~End~*


End file.
